The Tyler's Place Podcast

From the Clinic (February, 2014)

William has been seen once a week at our clinic to receive help for an articulation disorder. He is a sweet and charismatic, nearly ten year old boy. His family has been active with the Masonic Order for many years. They served in the youth organizations of DeMolay and Job’s Daughters, where they learned about the services offered at the San Jose Scottish Rite Speech and Language Clinic.

William began his journey with speech and language therapy before age 3, when he was seen for early intervention services. At this time he was diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech. Apraxia is a disorder that creates a difficulty producing, sequencing and coordinating oral movements needed to produce speech sounds. Children with apraxia have a difficult time producing and combining sounds to create words. As a result their speech can be difficult to understand. Prior to services at the clinic, William’s mother stated, “Our son was only understood by immediate family. Most other children and people he interacted with had a hard time understanding what he tried to tell them.”

After early intervention and speech and language therapy in preschool and elementary, William began receiving services at our clinic. By that time, William’s goals were focused on the /r/ and /th/ sounds. In particular, /r/ can be a difficult sound for children to master and it occurs very frequently in conversational speech.

As treatment has progressed, William has made great progress. His mother reported,” Since continuing treatment and with continuous practice, our son’s speech has improved to where he is understood 80%-90% of the time. The frequent frustration he had when not understood has dwindled to the point where his interactions are very seldom inhibited by a speech or communication breakdown.”

When asked about the family’s experience at the clinic, William’s mother stated, “Working with the wonderful and patient staff has been a comforting assistance over a hurdle in our son’s life. Our overall experience has been positive and reinforcing for our son’s ability to continue to strive toward his speech goals. We tell other parents about the services here in order to share the possibilities of aid. Sharing information about the Scottish Rite Speech and Language Clinic affords children with speech and language needs the access to care providers that they may not otherwise be able to afford.”